Internal combustion engine



May 15, 1934. os 1,958,957

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE I Filed Feb. 17.- 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet lInventor mz'alaa iaa'w A llomey May 15, 1934. N RAKQS 1,958,957

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Feb. 17, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Invenior 122% ozatfiak'oS I imm 4 A Home y Inventor A tlomey May 15, 1934.N RAKQS INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 1'7, 1932Patented May 15, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT F F ICE;

-1 Claim.

ner as hereinafter set forth, an engine of this character which will becomparatively simple in construction, strong, durable, efiicient andreliable in operation and which may be manufactured at low cost.

Another important object of the invention is to provide an internalcombustion engine of the character described embodying a novelconstruction and arrangement of lubricating means.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of theinvention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views, and wherein:-

Figure 1 is a view in vertical transverse section through an internalcombustion engine constructed in accordance with the present invention.

. Figure 2 is a view in vertical transverse section through the gearcase.

Figure 3 is a view in vertical longitudinal section through the engine.

Figure 4 is a section taken substantially on line 44 of Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that thereference numeral 1 designates the engine block which is formed toprovide the alinged pairs of horizontal cylinders 2. Any desired numberof the aligned pairs of "cylinders 2 may be provided. The block 1 isfurther provided with a cooling jacket 3 through which water circulatesaround the cylinders 2.

Crank cases 4 are mounted on the outer ends of the cylinders 2 andoperable in suitable bearings provided therefor in the crank cases arethe crank shafts 5. Opposed pistons 6 are mounted for reciprocationsimultaneously toward and away from each other in the pairs of cylinders2 and said pistons are coupled to the crank shafts 5 by the connectingrods 7. The heads of the pistons 6 diverge from top to bottom, asindicated at 8. Thus a firing chamber is defined by the pistons whichprogressively increases in size from top to bottom. A fuel intakechamber 9 is provided in the block 1 for each pair of cylinders 2, saidchamber 9 being located above the cylinders and at the point where saidpairs of cylinders merge with each other. The chamber 9 is incommunication with the firing chamber at all times and each chamberopens through the upper face of the block. Spark plugs 10 are threadedinto the block for igniting the compressed charge between the pistons 6as will be readily understood. The engine is mounted on a suitablesupporting structure or stand 11.

Mounted longitudinally on the block 1 is a head 12 upon which ismounted, in turn, a. housing 13, said housing 13 being removable. Thehead 12 seals all fuel intake chambers 9. Substantially V-shapedbrackets 14 rise from the head 12 for supporting the housing 13.Bearings 15 also rise from the head 12 and journaled therein is a camshaft 16 which is operatively engaged with the intake and exhaust poppetvalves 1'? which, when opened, project into the fuel chamber 9. Theintake valves, of course, control the flow of fuel to the pairs ofcylinders 2 from a suitable carburetor 18 through an intake manifold 19.The exhaust valves, of course, control the discharge of the spent fuelfrom the cylinders 2 to the exhaust manifold 20. The valves 1'7 are ofconventional construction and are normally closed by the coil springs21. An oil pipe 22 is supported in the brackets 14 above the cam shaft16 and in parallelism with said cam shaft. The pipe 22 may be perforatedas at 22' shown in Figure 4 of the drawings so as to discharge oil bygravity on to the cam shaft and the valves.

A gear casing 23 is mounted on one side of the block 1 and encloses acomparatively large gear 24 which is fixed on one end portion of the camshaft 16 which extends into the gear casing. The crank shafts 5 alsoproject into the gear casing 23 and have fixed thereon the gears 25. Apair of intermediate gears 26 operatively connects one of the gears 25with the cam shaft gear 24, while a single gear 27 operatively connectsthe other gear 25 to said cam shaft gear 24. It will thus be seen thatthe crank shafts 5 will rotate in unison in opposite directions, asindicated by the arrows in Figure 1 of the drawings.

The reference numeral 28 designates oil tanks which are mounted on thelower side of the block 1 to be cooled by contact with the water jack ofsaid block. Removable drain plugs 29 are provided in the oil tanks 28.Inclined pipes 30 connect the tanks 28 with the lower portions of theadjacent crank cases 4 for receiving the oil by gravity therefrom. Oilpipes 31 from suitable pumps (not shown) lubricate the crank shaftbearings 32. The-pumps, in turn, draw the oil from the tanks 28. Thelubricating pipe 22 also receives its oil from the tanks 28 through theaforementioned pumps and the discharge end of said pipe 22 is so locatedas to discharge oil on to the gears 25, 26 and 27. Of course, anysuitable type of pump or pumps may be' used. The arrangement of the oilpipes 30 with respect to the crank cases 4 is such that the cranks 5will tend to sweep the oil in the crank cases away from the pipes 30.This constitutes an important and desirable feature of the invention. Inoperation, as the opposed pistons fi-move away from each other, theintake valves open and the fuel is drawn into, the combustion chambers.The gears connect the crank shafts 5 together for rotation in oppositedirections. As the opposed pistons move toward each other, the fuelcharge is compressed and is then ignited by the spark plugs 10 and thepistons again move away from each other on their power strokes. It willthus be seen that a four cycle internal combustion engine has beenprovided. On the exhaust strokes of the pistons 6, the exhaust valvesopen to permit the scape of the spent gases. As previously stated, thelubricating oil in the tanks 28 is cooled by the water jacket of theblock 1.

It is believed that the many advantages of an internal combustion engineconstructed in accordance with the present invention will be readilyunderstood, and although the preferred embodiment of the invention is asillustrated and described, it is to be understood that changes in thedetails of construction and in the combination and arrangement of partsmay be resorted to which will fall within as claimed.

What is claimed is:-

An internal combustion engine comprising a block formed with pairs ofalined horizontal cylinders arranged in substantial parallelism, a pairof pistons mounted in each of the pairs of cylinders and each piston ofeach pair adapted .to move toward and away from each other, said blockhaving a fuel intake chamber common to each chamber opening through theupper face of the block, a head mounted on the upper face of the blockadapted to seal all the chambers, intake and exhaust valves mounted onthe head and communicating with said chambers, a cam shaft journaledabove the head for operating said valves, a crank case at each end ofthe block in communication with all adjacent cylinders, a

, crank shaft journaled in each crank case and connected to all adjacentcylinders and rotating in opposite directions from each other, means onthe side of the block for operatively connecting the cam shaft with thecrank shaft, and aspark plug threaded in the block between the pistons,one for each pair of pistons, said block having a cooling jacket aroundsaid cylinders, a housing supported on the head enclosing valves and camshaft, and a gear casing mounted on the side of the block enclosing saidmeans, an oil reservoir on the bottom wall of the block, and a conductorconnecting each gear casing with the reservoir.

NICHOLAS RAKOS.

the scope of the invention

